Reward Strategies for R&D

Abstract

Top management's commitment to a course of business action is reflected, in part, by its choice of reward systems for its managers and employees. As technical executives view RD how important reward systems are perceived for motivation; and how effective reward systems are when measured quantitatively by the narrow output measure of patents issued. FREQUENCY OF USE OF REWARD SYSTEMS The reward systems discussed by research directors at a 1990 IRI Special Interest Session are rank-ordered in Table 1, in the column labeled 33 Large Companies (1,2). (Table 1 omitted) A few comments about the table are necessary: Visible recognition for patents could not be distinguished clearly from visible recognition for extra effort by those who deserved awards but were not in a position to patent. Small and medium monetary awards were grouped into a continuum: from the token patent awards that had been in effect for decades to the more contemporary awards of a few thousand dollars. Salary also covers bonuses, and options and other stakes in the venture. The more recent of the two academic studies asked respondents to report on the frequency of use of reward systems in their organizations. The results of this reporting are shown in Table 1, in the column labeled 111 Small Companies. From this summary, it can be seen that frequency of use is nearly equally divided between intrinsic (non-monetary) and monetary awards. Positive intrinsic experiences included visible recognition of achievers, and frequent use of small recognition tools such as dinners, tickets and mementos for patents. …